The phone beeped again. “Yeah, I heard you the first time.”
Whoever had decided people needed a reminder that they’d received a text should be fired. No one wanted an electronic device shouting at them when they didn’t jump to do its bidding the moment it made a sound.
Instead of finding a message from Keith, Maddie found another one from Lisa when she unlocked the phone.
Hey, Maddie. I’m at Murphy’s.
I got out of the hot tub for that.She looked back at the relaxing water.
Have fun.
What else could she write and not sound rude?
I think Keith’s here.
So? Keith often stopped at the restaurant. If he was there now, it just meant he was back from Florida. Most likely, he went over for dinner or to pick up some takeout. It wasn’t like the guy was much of a cook unless it involved a grill or a microwave.
Is this him?
A photo featuring either Keith or an identical twin he’d failed to tell her about cozied up with a blonde appeared on her screen.
She’d read about characters seeing red. But, until now, she’d never experienced it.
A second photo followed the first, and Maddie sat down on the toilet seat cover. Keith’s hand covered the woman’s breast in this one, and her lips were mere inches away from his ear.
No. The guy in the picture was not Keith. He just looked like him. Yep, if she closed her eyes and counted to ten, when she looked at the picture again, she’d realize the two men just shared a resemblance. Keith wasn’t at Murphy’s with some woman glued to his side. He was in Florida working on a kidnapping assignment.
Her phone beeped again just as she reached the number ten.
Are you still there?
Yeah. That looks like Keith.
It can’t be, though.Keith left relationships when he got bored. He didn’t cheat, the part of her brain not consumed with anger pointed out. Just as quickly, though, it reminded her of the obvious. Pictures didn’t lie. And the person at Murphy’s sure as hell appeared to be Keith.
Lisa’s next message appeared almost immediately.
Do you want me to go over and say something to him?
If it were Keith, he’d be more likely to leave than cause a scene. It was anyone’s guess how the blonde would react. Lisa might find herself in an even uglier situation if it turned out it wasn’t Keith but some random guy.
No. I’ll call him.
And I better like his answers.
If you need to talk later, call me. Doesn’t matter the time.
Thanks.
She appreciated the offer, but regardless of what Keith said, she wouldn’t be taking Lisa up on the offer.
What she wore made no difference. But she exchanged the bath towel for her pajamas before pulling up Keith’s number, anyway.
Reaching the bedroom door, Maddie turned and retraced her steps as the phone rang. “Answer the phone, Keith.”
“Hey, are you done with babysitting duty for the night?” Keith asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.
Rather than ease her anger, his friendly greeting sent it up a notch. A guy who was getting up close and personal with another woman shouldn’t sound so relaxed when his girlfriend called.